Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? While hard skills such as bookkeeping and marketing can be worth learning, it’s also important to develop the right soft skills. These skills can be largely determined by your personality, however you may still be able to cultivate these skills later in life. Below are just five of the key soft skills every entrepreneur needs.
Problem-solving
Running a business is a constant cycle of identifying and overcoming problems. Only by doing this can you improve your business and conquer any obstacles.
There are many ways to develop your problem-solving skills from completing puzzle games to working out directions to new places (without a GPS). Optimism can be a vital ingredient of problem-solving – always try to focus not on the problem, but on the solution.
Time management
Becoming an entrepreneur gives you the freedom to use your time as your wish, however this also requires you to develop time management skills. You need to be able to prioritise important tasks while also ensuring that less important tasks aren’t forgotten.
To improve your time management skills you need to get into a habit of creating daily schedules and setting alerts to ensure that you keep to these as best you can. Finding ways to eliminate distractions could prevent you from being thrown of schedule.
Leadership
If you plan to hire employees, leadership skills could be vital. This involves a good understanding of how to manage people and get the best out of them.
There are courses in management skills training that can help you to develop leadership skills. Volunteering to organise social activities and lead clubs can also help you to gain leadership experience.
Communication skills
Entrepreneurs need to be good communicators. The involves being able to articulate your points well, as well as being able to maintain communication with multiple people at the same time whether they be customers, employees or suppliers.
There are similarly many courses out there that can help you to develop communication skills. Written communication is just as important as verbal communication in today’s world – it could be worth practicing your email and telephone skills.
Confidence
Being confident is important in all walks of life, but can be especially important when starting your own business. Confidence will help you to take risks and make decisions. It will also help to inspire confidence in others.
The key to confidence is learning to be proud of your strengths and learning to be accepting of your weaknesses. We all have moments of self-doubt – but a confident person knows when to suppress these doubts or when to seek approval from others. There are many courses, self-help books and support groups that can help people to become more confident.
Most people believe that they have to be rich to have any money to invest. It’s a common misconception given that the wealthy DO tend to invest their cash. Here’s the thing: it’s something you can do, too – and you don’t even have to put your money in the stock market. There are so many more places you can invest cash that will give you huge returns, and these could set you up for life when done the right way.
As with anything, there is an element of risk when you are investing your money. There are a variety of benefits, timelines, and interest rates to work with, and your decisions will depend on how much you know about investments. It’s for this reason that you have come to this article! You have some cash as a first time investor, and you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is. Let’s take a look at safe and profitable places to put your cash!
Real Estate. The easiest way to invest money – well, in theory – is in real estate. You do need a significant amount of money to invest, but it’s the market that can make you big money if you go about it the right way. You can make your fortune by buying up, doing up, and selling on, or you could purchase with the view of renting out. It’s up to you, and you can even hire someone to do it for you!
Gold. While you won’t be panning for it yourself in the mines, gold is still a lucrative investment in today’s economy. It’s an asset with real value, and with companies like ABC Refinery on your side, you can invest well. Gold isn’t something you just find in earrings and other jewelry, it also comes in bullion and coin form, and you can keep it in a vault at the bank. The value of gold changes over time, but it’s still worth investing in when the economy is high and selling when the economy melts down!
Peer-to-Peer Lending. Borrowing from others or lending to others who aren’t banks or loan companies is known as peer-to-peer lending. When you go for this option, you spread out your investments among more than one borrower should you want to you can get started when you hop online and check out the many lending sites. You could lend to others and know you’re giving back when you do!
Bonds. A common option for investment, bonds are popular with first time investors. These are debt investments where an investor will loan money to a corporate entity at a variable rate for a more extended period. The higher the interest on the bond, the higher the risk, so always be careful about which bonds that you invest in. Always look at the interest rate first.
Investing your money is supposed to be a brand new adventure, so don’t be afraid to dive right in and try something new now.
With technology always changing and improving, you have to always be adapting in your business as well. With the start of a new decade, it is essential to look at your technology systems and make any upgrades to make sure you are as current and efficient as possible.
Integration
Your website and any apps need to be able to transition across different types and sizes of screens. From desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, customers should be able to navigate through your interfaces easily. You also need to think about if your website or app interacts with any other websites or apps regularly and how you can make that interaction smoother. With the ease of clicking online, you will lose your audience if it becomes too hard for them to find what they want.
Don’t Forget Security
An ever-present risk to running businesses online is the chance for information to be stolen. Having your business information stolen can wreck your finances and mess with your systems. Having customers’ data stolen is even worse. In addition to those customers having to sort through identity theft, they will no longer be your customers. The negative press associated with a breach in security will also harm your company in the long run and prevent new customers from coming to your business.
Updates
Making sure all your systems are up-to-date is very important. Updates to your software will make sure that you are running smoothly, performing at optimum speeds, and are experiencing glitches. Updates can also be necessary for security reasons and efficiency.
Email Hosting
One thing you might want to consider when updating your systems is to switch to email hosting. These systems are stable and take the burden of managing this system off your shoulders. It also adds a sense of coherency to your business which increases your standing in the public’s view. Picking one email hosting site for all employees to use can also ensure that employees don’t lose track of important communication in their email accounts. There is usually also a chat option that allows for more instant communication around the office for quick problem-solving.
Consider the Cloud
If your business isn’t too large, you should consider using the Cloud to store all your files. This is a cost-efficient and safe way to solve your online storage problems. They also provide security for these files and pairing this with another form of storing data is an excellent way to back-up the data. Having these files on the Cloud makes sure that all employees have access to what they need, but also ensures that your files are safe.
Talk to a Professional
When in doubt, consult with a professional. There are so many intricate details that go into your technology-driven business, that it is impossible for you to stay abreast of all the changes. It may also be a good idea to outsource your IT service and support to an IT company instead of handling it on your own. This way, you know you are getting expert help with all your needs.
It’s a trend that many businesses are following. Because so many companies cannot afford physical premises but they need to retain clients, the ideal solution is to go to them. Running a mobile business in this respect is not easy. Running any sort of company that requires covering a lot of miles can be a logistical nightmare. As well as this, there are promotional aspects to consider. Promoting any business is tough, but promoting a mobile business can be even tougher. What can you do to attract and retain customers and clients when you don’t even have a physical office?
Using Your Vehicle As A Promotional Material
When we start to think about the importance of marketing 24/7 it can be about lingering in the subconscious of someone who we’ve just driven past. In this respect, vehicle wraps are a simple way to continually show off your business. If you want to find out about vehicle wraps you can see more about this and how it impacts your business but also can show off your brand and style. It’s like the traditional ice cream van; you know when it’s coming and you know what it looks like. If you want to get the attention of people you are driving past you’ve got to make your vehicle stand out.
The Importance Of Social Media
It’s not something that can be ignored. One of the main selling points of your business is that you are on the move. Using social media to communicate your journeys as well as your varied clients can be one of the most important elements of any marketing campaign. Going from customer to customer is the big draw but when you are are looking to draw customers in, social media gives you the ability to fill in the blanks. For example, if there’s only a certain distance that you cover or specific specialties that you offer, these need to be communicated through your social media channels. The great thing about a mobile business is that you can upload videos showing your journeys each and every time which will lend you a sense of credibility.
Don’t Underestimate Your Prowess
Marketing is all about that positive word of mouth. When you understand the type of clientele you want to attract, you’ve got to make sure every aspect of your brand is complete. Don’t forget, you are a brand as well. As everything you do will determine your services and your positive feedback when you are running a mobile business and you are interacting with people up close and personal, you need to think about the entire package. What you do will have a significant bearing on how well your business does. A mobile business where it’s just you going around to people’s homes is convenient for them but if you really want to loom large in people’s minds you’ve got to do something extra.
Marketing can be difficult for any company looking to make an impact but when you run a mobile business it’s not just the fact that you go to the customer that should be the key selling point.
Your business needs to use every moment productively, in order to facilitate the highest levels of success. The key to time saving is getting organized and evaluating your performance. Beyond this, there are plenty of hacks and software tools which can support your productivity.
Zapier
Zapier is a nifty platform which helps connect a wide range of apps together, allowing your business to save time and automate workflows. Zapier functions to automatically exchange info between your apps, so that you’re free to pursue other tasks. The software works via using ‘zaps’ which are like digital blueprints of repeated tasks. The ‘zaps’ will automatically open the correct apps and complete the task, according to your programming. You don’t need to rely on developers to create integrations because this app puts you in the driving seat. The software also arrives with plenty of premade integrations to get you started. To use multiple apps together, and automate your repetitive tasks; it doesn’t get much simpler than this.
Toggl
Toggl is handy piece of software which tracks your time spent on different tasks. When you can access a clear picture of exactly how your time has been spent, you’ll be able to evaluate your productivity and see exactly where improvements can be made. Toggl allows you to monitor your time using bar charts that show which projects are the most time consuming. You can use Toggl offline if you prefer, the software will re-sync to the cloud once your internet connection is back on. All of your data is shared between your mobile and desktop solutions, so you can track your time no matter where you are.
Outsource IT
Companies looking to save time could really benefit from outsourcing their IT to an external provider. When your team are spending time on IT maintenance or troubleshooting issues, this can put pressure on your projects. For your IT systems, solutions are best achieved by experts- freeing you up to focus on your workload. As well as this, an expert IT provider will be up to speed with the latest effective infrastructures. Consequently, you can rest assured that your company will be accessing the best options. Outsourced IT Support often provides 24/7 monitoring of your system, to ensure that no matter what- your business is productive and protected.
Chatbots
Chatbots are handy pieces of AI software that can deal with your customer service queries via your website, app, or even social media. Chatbots are pre-programmed to answer a huge range of queries via instant messaging systems. Many customers in fact prefer a quick instant message exchange to deal with their query. Whether it’s a question about shipping or a problem with your app, a Chatbot can serve your customers efficiently- around the clock. Your staff can only deal with one query at a time, whereas Chatbots are scalable to deal with a large number of queries simultaneously. To save yourself time and boost your customer service, AI is a top choice.
Finally, when it comes to your social media strategy, be sure to use a good social management platform like Hoosuite or Sprout Social.Such platforms allow you to manage multiple accounts in one place plus save time by automating your scheduling.
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